The American Israelite (1854–2000) National, regional, and local news for the Jewish community

“LET THERE BE LIGHT” has been the motto of The American Israelite since it was first published in 1854 with the intention to illuminate principles of Jewish faith and instill a sense of community among who often lived in geographically dispersed locations. Originally printed as The Israelite until 1874, this weekly is considered the longest-running English-language Jewish newspaper available in the country.

Published in , OH, the paper was started by Rabbi , best known as the founder of in the U.S. The American Israelite published numerous editorial columns ardently in defense of the civil and religious rights of all Jews, written by Wise. These efforts eventually led to the formation of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations which he initiated in Cincinnati. Wise also frequently penned columns calling for a Jewish educational institution, resulting in the establishment of the Hebrew Union College. Additionally, Wise also wrote several novels which were published as serials in his newspaper.

For insight into the growth and development of Reform Judaism in the U.S., the digitized issues of The American Israelite (1854-2000) provide a valuable record of events and issues as they unfolded. Access to these primary source materials will be of benefit to students and researchers interested in culture and civil rights history, as well as national and world news presented from a Jewish American perspective.

Curriculum Focus • Civil Rights • Jewish Studies • Political Science • Education • U.S. History • World History • Genealogy

Why The American Israelite?

• Full access to this historical newspaper: Users can study the progression of issues over time by browsing issues of The American Israelite which offers coverage of 1854-2000, including news articles, photos, advertisements, classified ads, obituaries, cartoons, and more. • Insight into multiple perspectives: Not only does presenting this newspaper on the ProQuest platform allow for cover-to-cover searching and browsing of complete issues of this newspaper, but users can find a broader view of issues and events by cross searching all of ProQuest’s complete runs of historical newspapers. • User-friendly support tools to facilitate research: Offered on the intuitive ProQuest platform, users benefit from the ability to search by more than 20 article types, keyword, date ranges, specific dates, author and more. They can also focus on relevant information quickly with hit-term highlighting and download articles and images in PDF format. • Award-winning, user-friendly interface: ProQuest was awarded Best Interface in the 2015 Charleston Advisor Reader’s Choice Awards: “It is much more intuitive and easy to use than previous versions. It includes improved document viewing, easier navigation…Kudos to ProQuest.”

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